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New effort underway to keep and create manufacturing jobs in Florida

A new effort is underway to help local manufacturing companies help keep existing workers and create new jobs.

The Science Center is launching new services from FloridaMakes aimed at improving the competitive ability and profitability of Tampa Bay manufacturing companies.

Florida's manufacturing sector is an important contributor to the Florida economy as a source of high wage employment and value-added products and processes.

"Technology is changing so rapidly," said Dick Peck, CEO at QTM, based in Oldsmar.

Peck remains concerned for his workers as automation continues to flood local manufacturers.

"As new technology comes in, these people will become obsolete," he said.

Efforts are underway with FloridaMakes and CareerSource to help create and keep more manufacturing jobs in the area.The services are designed to help manufacturing firms identify new opportunities for growth and bottom line cost savings, adopt best practices and appropriate technology, and benefit from process improvement and specialized training to support the needs of a skilled workforce.

"You may be helping a company that's bleeding that's having some problems so that's retention so they don't go out of business," said Kevin Carr, FloridaMakes CEO. ""If you make the company more competitive, or you help the company find a new customer or a new market, you're enabling them to grow."

The services are provided by FloridaMakes' business advisors at The Science Center as well as through FloridaMakes' statewide network of professional consultants and national resources.

The Science Center will also provide workforce solutions delivered through CareerSource Tampa Bay and CareerSource Pinellas.

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